The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has begun processes to examine and approve electricity and water tariffs for this year.

A statement signed by the Executive Secretary of the PURC, Mrs Mami Dufie Ofori, and issued in Accra on Tuesday said the commission was analysing proposals it had received from the utility companies.

“The 2018 major tariff review commenced by way of soliciting inputs from all stakeholders of the commission and members of the public.

“The commission has subsequently received proposals from the utility companies, including the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), the Enclave Power Company (EPC) and the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT),” it said.

“For barbers, it is being reduced by 18 per cent; for hairdressers and beauticians, 15.7 per cent, and for tailors, 9.8 per cent," the President had stated at the opening of the eighth Salon Academy of the National Association of Beauticians and Hairdressers in Accra.

While announcing the cuts in tariffs, the President also stressed that the government had taken a leap from regularising the power situation in the country and was now moving on to ensure a boost for private businesses.

Meanwhile, barely a day after the announcement of the cut in tariffs, the Minority in Parliament, the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) and the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) criticised the President for the move.

According to them, the President’s action amounted to a needless interference with the functions of the PURC, which is charged with the responsibility of tariff adjustment.

The Minority Spokesperson on Energy, Mr Adam Mutawakilu, particularly said the President’s announcement undermined the independence of the PURC.